Many of us are still stuck at home due to lockdowns, while others have loads of extra time on their hands due to being made redundant or put on furlough as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While there’s no doubt it’s important that you take job-hunting seriously and treat it like a full-time job, it’s important you have a break and try to take advantage of your reduced commitments to learn about something new.
As for those of you on furlough, as you legally can’t engage in any sort of work, now is a great, near once in a lifetime opportunity to immerse yourself in something new or explore something which is already of interest to you.
A podcast can be a great way to stay entertained and learn about a completely new topic or dive deeper into something you’re already quite familiar with, all from the comfort of your bedroom.
But, with close to a million podcasts available on the internet, you may be unsure about how to find the best podcasts for you. Read on to discover our useful tips to picking a great podcast to listen to, plus our rundown of four binge-worthy podcasts.
Finding The Best Podcasts
There are a few different ways to go about finding a great podcast for you. If you’ve listened to a podcast before which you really enjoyed, your first port of call should be checking if the creator has any other episodes of that podcast or if they have recently put out a different podcast.
If you’ve never listened to a podcast before, think about what you might enjoy listening to. For example, would you prefer a podcast about someone’s life or are you looking for something a bit more educational and information-rich? And, do you want to listen to a podcast on a very niche or bizarre topic, or would you prefer something a bit more mainstream?
Once you’ve figured this out, it’s simply a matter of searching until you find something that seems interesting to you. Then, you can begin listening to it. If it’s not for you, simply move on (though be sure to give it enough time to warm up.)
Our Top Picks
Last Days of August
Created by Jon Ronson, this podcast – which is named after porn star August Ames, who committed suicide after receiving death threats over a tweet – looks at the challenges of working in the adult industry.
This podcast offers real insight into an industry and profession most of us know very little about – and it’s sure to pique your interest once you start listening to it.
Broken: Jeffrey Epstein
From its name, you may think this podcast explores pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. However, it doesn’t focus on that. Instead, it looks at how people in his position, with extreme wealth and power, are able to get away with such crimes, even today!
Small Town Murder
Small Town Murder is awesome if you’re the sort of person who likes crime shows and documentaries. It looks at unusual crimes committed in small towns – and these are far from your run of the mill crimes – so it throws up a lot of surprises and interesting plots.
Timesuck
If you want a podcast with lots of variety rather than focusing on a single topic or issue, Timesuck is a great choice for you. It’s hosted by comedian Dan Cummins and looks at a range of different things, from paranormal activity to high profile and unusual crimes.
Joe Rogan
This is my personal favorite and I’m not alone. This guy is so entertaining and he chooses guests who are incredibly interesting. You’ll here a wide range of perspectives on topics from politics to science to entertainment. I like hearing the different perspectives on current events myself. So much better than the single note played by news outlets like CNN or Fox. Spotify just gave this guy a $100 million dollar contract so I guess they believe in him too!